The reenvisioned team is led by team manager Helena Stormanns this season and owned by roster member Genevieve Meyer. They started the year strong with a win in Traverse City before doubling down in Tryon.
“Tony's the young one here so he needed a bit of support from these two guys who are fantastic riders on very experienced good horses,” said Helena Stormanns of her son’s debut in MLSJ team competition. “I thought it was more important to run the two experienced ones in the first jump-off because it has always shown that it's better to be in the top two and then try to win. We've been in the top four every time so far [this season], and we're very happy.”
Seventeen-year-old Tony Stormanns made an impactful debut with Helios by jumping to the team’s only fault-free day. Efficient opening rounds by Duffy and Vogel were followed by clear first jump-offs for both, sending Tony to the gold-medal round against Great Britain’s Samuel Hutton for rookie team the Rainmakers. With less than a half second to spare, Tony pipped Hutton for the win in a time of 46.80 seconds.
“I was most excited for the first round because it's my first time jumping on a team at the five-star level,” said Tony. “Someone once said to me, ‘if you know horses there's no one to bet on because anything can happen.’ So, a 17-year-old can win, and Olympic riders could be fourth, but thank you very much to Genevieve and Gwendolyn, and my mum, Richie and Michael, and everyone else on the team.”
Hutton aboard Ambassador Z was joined in second by USA’s Skylar Wireman on Barclino B and Karl Cook with Kalinka van’t Zorgvliet. After besting the Desert International Horse Park (DIHP) Roadrunners in the bronze-medal match, the Archers kept the momentum of their Leg 4 win going with a podium finish in third.
“If you throw enough mud at the wall, some of it's going to stick eventually,” joked Duffy, who has suited up for all but one team competition this season. “That's always our motto; to be there or thereabouts as much as we can. Clear rounds matter. In the end, we can get caught up on the speed, but the clear rounds are probably what matter most.”
Current world no. 5 and reigning European Champion Richard Vogel noted, “It’s always nice to compete at MLSJ shows; they are all very nice venues, great sport and when it comes down to the team class, we all get very excited. We have a great team spirit, and we had a very good day today. Tony did not just secure us the gold in the final jump-off but also in the first round he was the only one of us three riding clear, so today Tony saved it for us.”
Despite not advancing to the medal round in Tryon, Maccabi United and Trailblazers still sit atop the season standings with Helios currently hanging on to third. View current MLSJ team standings here.